#arsenicsulphide

The Industrial Revolution started roughly 100 years ago... And I imagine the revolution must have gone on for some time before the first airships were created. So if the revolution was 100 years ago, the first airship came about 90 years ago, and the war maybe ~10 years later after it had been refined and the different "kingdoms" had started to try taking over land... The war was 10 years long.

That would make it about ~70 years since TAW, and with such a huge war, there were most likely many, many years spent on rebuilding. 

My personal headcanon is that this took away funds from many other projects, putting most of Abovem in a "paus" so they stepped in the same place when it came to inventions and technology for a long time, just reusing what they knew and improving slowly... Until they got back on their legs again!

This also means that while most humans and other folk with similar age span who were alive during TAW has died, but many dwarves, elves and other races who were there from start to finish would remember it vividly.

Would it be helpful if maybe we added a sort of timeline to The Core perhaps?

Or more like, something about how they count their years, aching to a calendar? Because that would probably not be impossible to fix. o:

Oh, that sounds really neat! :D I'm looking forward to see when it's posted.

I wonder if I’m the first submission hahaha! Spent some time thinking about these guys, and I hope they’re up to snuff. Posts about their companion race, and about their religion soon to follow!

Wollekin

Summary: Average Height: 3’10-4’2 Weight: ~115 lbs Muscular w/ heavy fur Wear only unisex modesty skirts Most can run between 32 and 36 mph on open land Organize into family-based clan structure Largely nomadic Bond with Autsteigenden, use for transport

Physiology

The Wollekin are akin to small, anthromorphic Wolverines. Extreme height ranges are around 3’3” and 4’10” but most do not stray from ~3’10” and 4’2” (~1.16m-~1.27m). Extreme weight ranges are ~80-150lbs but most are within 105-125lbs (~47kg-~57kg). Most can lift weights around their own body weight above their head, owing to a powerful musculature that is hidden underneath heavily layered fur. Despite their powerful physique, most Wollekin are capable of speeds of up to 36mph (~16m/s) on open, flat ground, and are hindered little by forested ground, though their running suffers on less solid ground - sands, muds, marsh. The Wollekin are an entirely carnivorous species, and their teeth and digestive tracts are not made to handle plant matter.

Culture

Wollekin are an almost entirely nomadic people. Apart from rare exceptions, all Wollekin spend their lives in their tented saddles mounted on Aufsteigenden - flying squids that drift through the clouds. Aufsteigenden, being an intelligent race, are treated as respected friends rather than beasts of burden. The Wollekin people are thoroughly warmed by their fur, and even in the coldest climes, most prefer to go stark naked than wear clothing, but for modesty’s sake many wear unisex skirts around other peoples.

Most Wollekin earn their living through Merchanting and Mercenary work - they are a very calm, passive people, but when scared or threatened they quickly turn vicious. Wollekin who seek to learn are taught to use broadswords and large round shields - about two and a half feet in diameter - which they are taught to minimize themselves behind. Many Wollekin also have taken to using rifles that have been made by more industrious members of their culture.

Wollekin Clans are structured under a Progenitor and his or her Liebhaber - his mate. Both parents are given status among the clan, which consists entirely of their own children, and it is often the more ambitious parent who claims the Progenitor title, and so the Liebhaber is known to often be the stronger of the pair. Often, Progenitors will swear fealty to worthy Progenitors of other clans, forming High Clans which often consist of no more than 5 clans, one led by the High Progenitor who leads them all. VERY rarely, a High Progenitor will swear fealty to another, forming what is known as a Great Clan, led by a Lord Progenitor. Under the Lord Progenitor, each High Clan is still an entity, and so the Lord Progenitor’s vassals are his High Progenitors, not all Progenitors in the Great Clan.

The Wollekin call themself Vierfrass - their ancient and original name for themselves. However, the first among them to bond with an Aufstigender and take flight to other lands was Progenitor Wolle. Though through his travels he showed himself to be a fool and a coward, when his clan was asked their names, however, they said what came naturally - They were Wollekin, Wolle’s clan - and so the Vierfrass found themselves named for a great disgrace to their people.

Religion

Most Wollekin are Zentruists - followers of the ways of Zentrum. They praise all the spirits of the world, high among them Bodenkern, the spirit of the world below, and Gelieb, Bodenkern’s lover and the spirit of the sun. This religion seems to have originated in or around the Wollekin’s ancestral homelands, as that is where it is strongest. Zentruists are uncomfortable with the practice of dropping bodies down to Belowus, as it is the land promised by Bodenkern to them, and many make hazardous pilgrimages down to Belowus, though obviously, even if any make it down, none return. As well, many Zentruists are uneasy, at best, with High Dragon stories of the ground below, and the sacrelige it stands for in their religion.

Technology

Wollekin are very techsavvy, and most see all manner of technology in their travels. They commonly use Ballistae on their Aufsteigenden Saddles - cannons would be too harsh on their friends. As well, for the oldest and largest Aufsteigenden, saddles are fashioned that turn them into great battlecruisers, similar to a dirigible. Said saddles often have multiple floors above and below the creature, and protected staircases between, with webbing for the worst cases. On these largest of saddles is the only place where one might find cannons on an Aufsteigender.

Hey, thanks for the input!

I’m aware this is how they work, but I made a quick look over and saw that we indeed forgot quite a few details about that, and worded some things a bit weirdly.

I will edit as soon as I got time over but for now; due to the lack/tiny amounts of fossils to use as fuel, ie coal and oil (especially since the war, but also due to the fact they live on flying islands; you can only dig that deep into the ground), they have resorted to finding other sources of energy to create heat.

One big discovery (mentioned briefly in biotech) is the Hujo three, which is bred and harvested for its nature of growing rapidly, not to mention how it’s been shown to have huge energy-capabilities.

Currently the only known way to harvest this energy is to make a sort of charcoal out of the wood/burn it; in other words it’s used in steam engines replacing coal.